Constitution of Indiana
The Constitution of Indiana is the highest body of state law in the U.S. state of Indiana. It establishes the structure and function of the state and is based on the principles of federalism and Jacksonian democracy. Indiana's constitution is subordinate only to the U.S. Constitution and federal law. Prior to the enactment of Indiana's first state constitution and achievement of statehood in 1816, the Indiana Territory was governed by territorial law. The state's first constitution was created in 1816, after the U.S. Congress had agreed to grant statehood to the former Indiana Territory. The present-day document, which went into effect on November 1, 1851, is the state's second constitution. It supersedes Indiana's 1816 constitution and has had numerous amendments since its initial adoption.
Indiana's constitution is composed of a preamble, articles, and amendments. Among other provisions, it specifies a republican form of government consisting of three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The state constitution also includes a bill of rights, grants suffrage and regulates elections, provides for a state militia, state educational institutions, and sets limits on government indebtedness. The Indiana General Assembly may amend the constitution, subject to ratification by vote of the people, as specified in Article 16 of Indiana's 1851 constitution.
Constitution of 1816
Authorization
In 1811 the Indiana Territory's House of Representatives adopted a memorial to the U.S. Congress asking permission for its citizens "to form a government and constitution and be admitted to the Union", but the War of 1812 delayed the process until 1815. Some members of the territory's general assembly, as well as Thomas Posey, governor of the Indiana Territory, objected to statehood at that time. They believed that the territory's limited size and scattered population would make a state government too costly to operate. However, after a census authorized in 1814 proved that its population had reached 63,897, exceeding the minimum population requirement of 60,000 as outlined in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, efforts to pass a request to consider statehood for Indiana were renewed.On December 11, 1815, the territory's House of Representatives voted seven to five in favor of the memorial to Congress stating its qualification to become a state. The request was presented in the U.S. House of Representatives on December 28, 1815, and introduced in the U.S. Senate on January 2, 1816. A House committee chaired by Jonathan Jennings, Indiana's territorial representative, reported out a bill for an Enabling Act, which provided for the election of delegates to a convention to consider statehood for Indiana. The bill passed in the U.S. House on March 30, 1816, and in the U.S. Senate on April 13. President James Madison signed the Enabling Act into law on April 19, 1816. If a majority of the delegates to Indiana's constitutional convention agreed, the delegates would proceed to create a state constitution.
As outlined in the Enabling Act, election of delegates to Indiana's first constitutional convention took place on May 13, 1816. The convention at Corydon, the territorial capital in Harrison County, began on Monday, June 10, 1816. The convention's elected delegation of forty-three men were apportioned among the thirteen counties that were "in existence prior the 1815 General Assembly" and based on each county's population.
Political climate/issues
In the early nineteenth century some of the Indiana Territory's citizens opposed statehood. The major concerns were the loss of financial support from the federal government if it became a state and the fear of a tax increase to pay for the new state government. The minority group preferred to wait until later, when the population was even larger and the state's economy and political structure was more firmly established. The majority of the territory's citizens viewed statehood as an opportunity for more self-government and wanted to proceed. The territory's pro-statehood faction preferred to elect their own state officials instead of having the federal government appoint individuals on their behalf, formulate state laws, discontinue the appointed territorial governor's absolute veto power, and allow its citizens to have greater participation in national politics, including voting powers in Congress.At the time the delegates were gathering at Corydon in June 1816, slavery had become a major and divisive issue in the territory. The indenture law of 1805 had been repealed, but slavery continued to exist within Indiana. Two major factions emerged. An anti-slavery/pro-democracy group was led by Jonathan Jennings and his supporters. Former territorial governor and future U.S. president William Henry Harrison's allies led the pro-slavery/less democratic group. Supporters of Indiana statehood favored democracy, election of state officials, and voting representation in Congress. Harrison's allies supported slavery within the territory and maintaining Indiana's territorial status with a federally appointed governor. The anti-slavery faction preparing for statehood hoped to institute a constitutional ban on slavery.
Constitutional Convention
On June 10, 1816, the first day of the convention, forty-two delegates convened at Corydon to discuss statehood for Indiana. The convention's forty-third delegate, Benjamin Parke, did not arrive until June 14. Thirty-four of the elected delegates agreed on the issue of statehood. On June 11, the delegation passed a resolution to proceed with task of writing the state's first constitution and forming a state government.Jonathan Jennings, who presided over the convention and was later elected the first governor of Indiana, appointed the delegates to various committees; William Hendricks, although he was not an elected delegate,
served as the convention's secretary and was later elected as the new state's first representative to Congress. In addition to Jennings, notable members of the delegation included Franklin County delegates James Noble and Robert Hanna ; Harrison County delegates Dennis Pennington and Davis Floyd; and among others, William Henry Harrison's friends and political allies: Benjamin Parke, John Johnson, John Badollet, and William Polke, David Robb of Gibson County, and James Dill of Dearborn County.
Most convention delegates had ties to the South; all but nine had lived below the Mason-Dixon line before their arrival in the Indiana Territory. The youngest delegate was twenty-eight; the oldest was fifty-eight. Eleven delegates had served in the territorial legislature and more than half of the delegates had previous legal training. Daniel Grass, the sole delegate from Warrick County, was excused on June 19 for the remainder of the convention due to ill health.
The delegation's basic tasks included selection of presiding officers, adoption of a set of convention rules, meetings in committees and as a whole group to discuss proposed articles for the new constitution, and adoption of a final version of the document. Although the members of the delegation did not all agree, a majority group, mostly associated with the anti-territorial governor and anti-slavery faction, emerged in favor of statehood. The opposing consisted mostly of Harrison's friends and supporters of the territorial legislature who opposed statehood.
The summer heat often caused the delegation to move outdoors and work beneath the shade of a giant elm tree that would later be memorialized as the Constitution Elm. The delegates completed their work on the constitution in nineteen days, adjourning on June 29, 1816. The total cost of the convention was $3,076.21, which included compensating the delegates and their assistants for each day they attended the convention, as well as printing costs for the final version of the document and the acquisition of benches, tables, books, and stationery for the delegates.
Adoption
The delegates adopted the constitution with a simply majority vote. The new constitution became effective on June 29, 1816, the last day of the convention, when the delegates signed the document. It was not submitted to Indiana's voters for ratification.Summary and features
Indiana's 1816 constitution, considered the most important document in the state's history, represented the more democratic views of the pro-statehood/anti-slavery faction. The document emerged from the constitutional convention as a statement of the "values and beliefs" of Indiana's pioneer era.The state's first constitution is similar to that of the other state constitutions written around the same time. Because Ohio and Kentucky were the newest states closest to Indiana, the delegates to the Indiana constitutional convention referred to the constitutions of these two states, along with others such as Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Tennessee, for ideas and concepts as well as specific text. Content from the other state constitutions was chosen based on the Indiana delegates' preferences for their new state. Occasionally, original text was composed for specific articles or sections when the appropriate wording in other state constitutions was not sufficient. The delegates' selections resulted in Indiana's legislative branch being dominant over the executive and judicial branches of state government.
The Indiana delegates organized a republican form of government and created a state constitution that outlined a basic framework for governmental functions. Instead of providing specific details on individual issues, the constitution's broadly defined principles enabled the state government to function as a loosely bound unit. "The People" were explicitly noted as being the sovereigns of the state.
The preamble outlined Indiana's rights to join the Union "on equal footing with the original states" in accordance with the laws of the U.S. Constitution, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, and the Enabling Act. Article I, which contained a bill of rights for Indiana's citizens, conferred many of the same rights as the U.S. Bill of Rights, including civil liberties and such basic freedoms as the freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, and freedom of religion, among others. Article II called for the separation of powers between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of state government.
Articles III, IV, and V outlined the powers of the state's legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. Its bicameral legislature divided powers between two chambers, each one composed of elected members. The state legislature was set to meet annually. Elections would be held annually to elect representatives. State senators would serve three-year terms, with one-third of the senators being elected each year. The governor and lieutenant governor would be elected to serve a term of three years. Indiana's governor was limited to serving two consecutive terms. A simple majority vote in the legislature could override the governor's veto. Article IV also outlined the election of other state officials. The judicial branch, as outlined in Article V, included the state's Supreme Court, circuit courts, and other inferior courts. The constitution allowed the state legislature to create and adjust state courts and judicial districts and the governor was given the authority to appoint judges to serve seven-year terms with input and confirmations from the state senate.
Article VI granted voting rights to white males twenty-one years of age and older who were citizens of the United States had lived in Indiana for at least one year. Under Article VII all "able-bodied" white men between the ages of 18 and 45 were required to serve in the militia when called upon to do so. Non-whites were prohibited from serving in the militia. Conscientious objectors would be fined if they did not serve.
The constitution's first mention of slavery appears in Article VIII, Section 1, which expressly prohibited alteration or amendment of the state constitution from ever permitting the introduction of slavery or involuntary servitude into the state. As one of the state constitution's most important provisions, this section allowed constitutional amendments for any reason other than the introduction of slavery or involuntary servitude. The anti-slavery clause in Article VIII stated: "But, as the holding any part of the human Creation in slavery, or involuntary servitude, can only originate in usurpation and tyranny, no alteration of this constitution shall ever take place so as to introduce slavery or involuntary servitude in this State, otherwise than for the punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted." Indiana's 1851 constitution contains similar content, but clarified the legal status of slaves and indentured servants when they came into the state.
Article IX outlined plans for public education. Its central item, which was new to American constitutions, included a clause that established "As soon as circumstances will permit" a "general system of education, ascending in regular gradation, from township schools to a state university, wherein tuition shall be gratis and equally open to all." This was a significant alteration and expansion of the education clauses of the template constitutions used during the convention. Because the opening phrase did not provide a specific timetable for implementation, a state-supported system of public education was delayed until a new state constitution was adopted in 1851. Article IX also provided for a reform-based penal code, funding for libraries, and state institutions to care for the elderly and those in need.
Indiana's delegates wrote their own content for Article X, which outlined the state's banking provisions. Article XI outlined general provisions that named Corydon the seat of state government until 1825, established salaries for judges and state officials, and set the state's geographical boundaries. While Article VIII banned the future importation of slaves and indentured servants into Indiana, Article XI left open to interpretation the issue of whether it was acceptable to allow pre-existing slavery and involuntary servitude arrangements within the state. Article XII outlined the process for the transition from a territorial government to a state government. This included, among other tasks, the election of state officials and representation in the Indiana General Assembly and the U.S. Congress.